Another Snow Covered Run

Although I would really like to get a run in while it is actually snowing, I feel fortune to do both of my last two runs on snow covered paths.  Today's run wasn't quite a much fun as Saturday for two reasons.  First, it was solo and not the fun of running with the BCR.  Second, it was actually raining when I ran today.

We had snow this morning.  It was only less than an inch.  By the time I got to running in the afternoon, it was raining and raining pretty good in fact.  I wasn't thrilled when I saw that.  If I was just doing 3 runs a week, like I have been recently, I probably would've skipped today and just ran tomorrow.  However, I am planning on running 4 days this week and the only way to do that would be to run today.  Otherwise, I would've had to run 3 straight days at some point.

I thought about heading to Jacobsburg.  I figured a trail run could be fun in these conditions.  However, I realized that I haven't run at the D&L Trail in Cementon in awhile.  I decided to head there.  The plan was for just 3 miles.  If I felt really good, perhaps I would stretch it to 4 miles.

When I arrived, there were no tire tracks in the parking lot.  I was the first person to go there all day.  I knew it would be a lonely run.  Snow was gone from the roads and most of the grass, but the stone trail was still covered.

Dressing for this run was quite frustrating.  It wasn't anywhere near as windy and cold as it has been.  However, with the rain, I had to wear a jacket.  I knew that would make me a little hot.  I still had on long pants, gloves and a winter hat.  I felt comfortable when I started, so I knew I had on too much.  I switched the hat off and went to a headband.  Since I just shaved most of my hair off, I had to go back to the hat.  Later in the run, I took my gloves off too.

I started off cruising along.  My tracks in the path were the first ones.  I didn't encounter any others until later in the run.  I looked back and it was cool to see my tracks in the snow following me.  I thought I would get a picture of my lonely tracks when I got back to my car.  I elected not to wear my GoPro today.  I figured that I had enough snow pictures.  I later on regretted not bringing it.

When I first looked at my watch, I thought I was around 1/2 of a mile into the run, but it only said 1/3 of a mile.  I thought it was odd and I couldn't be going that slow.  I felt good.  It was a little hard running in the snow, but wearing trail shoes helped.

When I looked at my watch for a 2nd time, it only read .78 miles.  I then looked at my pace and it was around 12:00.  I knew I might've been slower than usual, but definitely not that slow.  My GPS was certainly off.  I came through the first mile and it read 11:25.  I took my watch out of my jacket at that point.

I said earlier that I wished I would've had my camera on the run.  I can't remember where I was when I saw it, but there was a cool sight along the trail.  The old railroad (which is now the trail) was cut through some rock.  With all the cold weather we've had lately, the rock wall had large ice crystals come out of it.  That would've made for a cool photo.

Because the first mile was inaccurate and looked slow, it pissed me off.  I pushed the pace a little more after that.  I still wasn't going hard and I'm not sure I would call the pace moderate either.  It was definitely faster than an easy pace though.  With my watch out of my pocket, I checked it more often.  It seemed accurate the rest of the run.

Before turning around, I encountered another runner.  What were the odds?  He was running with his dog.  I saw that and was hoping that I wouldn't catch him when I turned around.  I didn't want to have to pass him and the dog again.  Luckily, they were pretty far ahead and must've been moving fast.  I don't think I even gained ground on them.

The 2nd mile ended up being blazing.  It was run at 7:36.  I can't even imagine how much faster it would've been on a normal, clear day.  I continued to plug along.  I couldn't wait for the final mile to be over.  I looked at my watch again and again.  My pace kept crawling closer and closer to a 9:00 overall pace.  My goal then became to get it below that.  I hit 9 flat when I was in the final quarter mile of the run.

I finished up under the 9:00 and felt great.  The last mile did wear me down a little and my breathing was laboring a bit.  That mile was done at 7:42.  It was good to complete this run.

Since I had gone out about a 1/4 mile that wasn't accounted for by my watch, I had a short walk back to my car.  The guy with his dog came by in the other direction.  That meant that my footprints weren't the only ones, so I didn't take any photos.  I was confused for a minute because I didn't see my prints.  Then, I realized that mine were actually just in front or behind his.

It was a good run and I'm very happy with how fast the last 2 miles were.  That's especially true considering that I wasn't pushing too hard and the conditions were tough.  I haven't done speedwork in so long, but with healthy quads, I feel like my slow paced runs are much quicker.  It will be interesting to see how fast I'll be when I run the 5K next weekend.  I'd like to think that I can at least break 22 minutes.  I might even be able to get under 21 minutes.

Tomorrow should be a little warmer.  I might go for a bike ride.  Wednesday, I'll be running again.  I'm leaning towards going to Trexler again.  It should be really warm then.  Maybe I can run better without cold air.  I'll need some better weather to conquer those hills.

3 miles - 26.44 (8:55 pace)